The NHL Missed the Net

I've been trying to write about this in a logical yet passionate way since Tuesday evening but I can't. There is no logic and I can't remove my emotions. Yes, I'm talking about the hit that Zdeno Chara laid on Max Pacioretty in Tuesday night's Boston v. Montreal NHL game. I just can't find the words to say what I want. It's rare that I'm at such a loss for words.

In the meantime I've been digesting it all and chatting back and forth with the original curmudgeon (the OGC). The OGC suggested a post that sums it up quite nicely. I've been hoping for this for a while and now, here's the OGC:

NHL leadership stinks and the league is becoming a joke. Every time they have a chance to make a statement, they take a pass. This is the same league that hands out suspensions for vulgar gestures and flipping someone the bird. But when a guy is brutally injured, they turn a blind eye like it's nothing.

A caller to The Team 990 said it perfectly. How can players be held responsible for their sticks when they're falling on their butts and the stick flails, but not be held accountable for their elbows, shoulders and fists when in full control of their body? Only one word sums this up: bullshit.

Well put OGC. But he wasn't done. In response to this article on the Boston Herald website, in particular this line:

The true villain, though, is the architectural genius who placed that small, exposed stretch of boards, stanchions and glass right in the area between the benches and created a tremendously dangerous hazard.

The OGC had this reply:

Is that a little like blaming a rape victim because of the low cut dress she was wearing? In your world, Mr. Harris, I guess the aggressor is never at fault.

Toronto Sports Network - UPDATED

Updated at bottom.

I've complained about TSN being very Toronto-centric in my NHL draft diary but today's headlines really annoyed me. Here's a list of all the links to stories on TSN's main page this morning:

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Canucks' Burrows slams referee after loss to Predators
Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Veteran sumo wrestler Kaio notches record 808th win
Weber's game-winner leads Predators to road win over Canucks
Anderson makes 44 saves as Avs drop Flames in shootout
Pacers rally from 23 points down to stun Raptors
Maynard beats Diaz in Ultimate Fight Night main event

Monday, January 11, 2010

Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Huge night by Nash helps Suns hold off Bucks
Pound: Figure skating a 'nightmare sport'
Wilson may shake up Leafs' lines to help Kessel out of slump
Walling: Saint Mary's to welcome Danton
Fast Break: Rautins says Bosh is the best Raptor ever
McGwire admits to steroid use during 1998 home run race
Report: Blue Jays scouting Delgado in winter league
McGwire's original testimony before Congress in 2005
Fleury apologizes for ripping Flames on his blog
Coveted LHP Chapman signs 6-year deal with Reds
Coyotes' Jovanovski suspended 2 games for elbowing
Bucks lose Redd for remainder of the season
Rangers, Guerrero agree on one-year deal
Double Play: McGwire deserves to be forgiven like Rodriguez
Blackhawks extend president McDonough through 2016
Stronger, Higher, Homer? Simpsons go curling
Canada names its Olympic long track team
Seahawks make it official with Pete Carroll
Flames host Avs, Canucks battle Preds in Monday action
Danton cleared to attend St. Mary's; expected to play hockey
Lindsey Vonn dimisses the hype
Eagles say McNabb will return for 12th season with team
Langenbrunner picked as USA's captain for Vancouver
Mark McGwire's full statement
Streaking Canucks gain ground in TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings
Canadian foursome set to tee off on PGA Tour in 2010
Heavy rain closes Olympic host mountain
Razor's Edge: Red Wings a model for resiliency
Watkins, Bowman, Chiu top Als' list of potential free agents
Texas Longhorns top men's hoops poll for the first time
Flashback: Beckie Scott waited to receive gold
Bosh, Raptors start brief road swing in Indy on TSN
More Wizards meet authorities about Arenas investigation
Six-goal week earns Canucks' Burrows first star honours
Chisholm: Of Bosh, Turkoglu, and the NBA trade deadline
Hall tops Seguin in Central Scouting mid-season rankings
Doughty piling up points since Team Canada announcement
Armstrong: Five improvements for Raptors to take next step
Jones versus Vera set for main event of UFC Fight Night 21
Tiger-Cats ink Peter Dyakowski to contract extension
Pens go for consecutive wins in clash with Wild on TSN2
Jayson Williams pleads guilty to '02 shooting; to serve time
Mavericks acquire Najera from New Jersey
Man U aims to reduce massive debts with bond sale
Bus attack highlights security concerns ahead of WCup
Sutter furious at laser pointer wielding Canucks fan
Cullen: First Fantasy Puck Mail of 2010
Schumacher's return to F1 begins with drive of GP2 car
Tom Hicks' son resigns as director of Liverpool
FIA to appeal court's decision to overturn Briatore's ban
Report: Canadians Stout, Goulet added to UFC 113 in Montreal
Henin pulls out with injury; upsets rule Monday in Sydney
Monfils withdraws from Sydney tournament
Lightning beat Devils in completion of suspended game
Henderson unifies lightweight title at WEC 46
Dansby's fumble return in OT helps Arizona to record victory

Noticeably absent is a story about a 4 point (FOUR!) game by Mr. Guillaume Latendresse of the Minnesota Wild. Gui! had a hand in every goal scored by the Wild last night. You'd think that in a country obsessed with hockey this would be headline news. Especially considering the network aired the game and Gui! is a Canadian boy. But it's not and I'll tell you why. It's the Toronto Sports Network and he's French (yep, I went there)!

First, the Toronto bias.

TSN needs room on its site for stories about who Phil Kessel's linemates are going to be, why Chris Bosh is the greatest Raptor of all time, who the Blue Jays are scouting and something about Homer Simpson. As if a story about who will be playing on a line with a guy on one of the worst teams in the NHL is bigger news than a guy who notches 4 points in a game and is a part of every scoring play. A 4 point night is nothing to scoff at and should be an entry on your site the day after it happens. You even showed the game, you must have had reporters on hand.

I'm tired of TSN calling itself Canada's National sports leader. It is Toronto's sporst leader. At least Sportsnet has 4 different channels based on region. TSN has 2 stations, but focused on Toronto. While RDS is obviously biased towards Montreal it is a French speaking station; it should be biased towards Canada's only French based team.

Now, the French Bias. This was covered by Bob Sirois in his book Le Québec mis en échec: la discrimination envers les Québécois dans le LNH (Quebec bodychecked: discrimination against Quebeckers in the NHL). Mr. Sirois contends that prejudice is alive and well in the NHL and he points this out with the lack of esteem held for French players when compared to anglophone peers.

You think Sirois' crazy? Again, the Latendresse story was not included in TSN's links. Also, have a look at all of the hockey related news above and see if you can find a French name. You can't. I understand that Fleury is a French based name, Theo is not French.

If it weren't for its grapple on sports in Canada, I'd be done with TSN. As it is now I watch RDS almost exclusively for games and news updates and will no longer visit TSN on the web. Frapper la rue TSN.

Update

Alex Burrows is from Quebec. His story is the first on the list above. However, his story is a story of a vendetta between him and a referree. The ref, Stephane Auger, was also involved during the Shane Doan racial slur. It all smells a tad funny, and while I'm not entirely sure what to think of it, since both Burrows and Auger are from Quebec, I still think it's incredible there was (and still) no mention of Gui!'s 4 point night against the Stanley Cup champion Pens.

It's About Time

Dick Jauron was fired as head coach of the Buffalo "We'll be in Toronto Soon and the Curmudgeon Will Not Have a Favourite Team" Bills. Jauron's record as head coach of the Bills was 24 wins and 33 losses.

If you don't know who Jauron is, he's the coach who stands motionless and emotionless on the sidelines while your team gets an easy win. That is unless your team is St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, or another bottom feeder. He's also the guy that looks like a shorter, skinnier version of Lurch. Basically like he's already been embalmed (come to think of it, he and Ralph Wilson have a lot in common).

What amazes me most about the story is that Jauron didn't see the firing coming. Four years to improve a football team and 4 years without passing 7 wins out of a 16 game season. Four years without improving an offense even after adding one of the best wide receivers of this era. Maybe that explains why he couldn't see blitzes coming in obvious passing situations; he just can't see anything.

I'd be happy about this move if it meant better things for the Bills in the future, but I doubt it. The Bills do not have a good record for hiring coaches in the post 90s era. Here are the Bills' coaches post Marv Levyand their records:

• Wade Phillips 29 wins 19 losses. Decent coaching record , but screwed up majorly by starting Rob Johnson at QB instead of Doug Flutie in the playoffs essentially costing him his job.
• Gregg Williams 17 wins 30 losses. Better defensive co-ordinator than head coach (see Redskins, Washington and Saints, New Orleans). Inexperienced when hired.
• Mike Mularkey 14 wins 18 losses. Mularkey or malarkey? Tight end coach now? Who knows and who cares?

Octogenarian Ralph Wilson had better take some time to hire a new coach and better spend some cash. There are some big names out there like Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, Tony Dungy. Sure, some of them may not want to coach, but maybe we can have them be a football operations guy like Parcells in Miami. But that won't happen. They'll hire some second rate coach and continue their abysmal stretch until the eventual move to Toronto where they'll win a SuperBowl as the Toronto something or others and I'll hate it.

You Were Expecting Gretzky?

I've heard it said that the definition of crazy is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results. So does that make Bryan Murray stark raving mad? Didn't he know what he was getting when he signed Alex "the artist" "AK-27" Kovalev?

I've watched Kovy for the past 5 years in a Habs uniform only to be frustrated, then dazzled, then further frustrated, then happy he was gone. Sure, he can be a game changer but more of than not he's lazy and uninterested.

Kovalev has four goals and four assists in 16 games, which puts him on pace for 41 points this season. That will change, he'll score a bunch for a week, then cool off again and likely end up somewhere near 50 points. You'd be crazy if you expected anything more.

Finally Some Comeuppance

I couldn't help but feel some joy when Captain America threw a 3 yard pass to Kevin Faulk that Faulk juggled while being pushed back a yard and half on the 4th and 2 play of last night's Monday Night Football game. Faulk was ruled down at the Patriots 28 yard line giving Peyton Manning the ball with 2 minutes left. You may recall that Captain America and the Pats stomach punched me and the rest of the Bills fans on week 1 of the season. Yes, I am petty and spiteful.

It would have felt better if it were the Bills winning the game rather than the Colts, but it seemed appropriate since NBC was calling this game part of the rivalry of the decade. Plus, I've always like Peyton. He is arguably the best quaterback ever. And no, I don't buy the "Brady has more rings" argument as a reason he's better than Manning. Aikman has more rings than Marino, but nobody thinks he's a better QB (well, maybe Taylor, but he's not exactly an objective observer). I also think that Marino was the best QB of his era, SuperBowl wins or not.

As much as I'm glad Captain America didn't stage one of his miraculous comebacks, the loss rests squarely on Bill Bilichick's shoulders. Bilichick is the head coach. It was his call to me and he is viewed by many as the greatest coach working today. Maybe he started to believe his own press. Hubris caught up with him last night.

Bilichick's hubris is well documented. Sure, the press doesn't really call it hubris, but if you look back to the 18-1 (ha! 1) season and even the game against my beloved Bills, Bilichick always makes calls that reek of hubris. Going for it on 4th and 1 twice in a game against the Bills, running up the score in every game during the 2007 season and last night was the exclamation point.

You may not agree with me. You don't have to. But you can't disagree that last night's call was the wrong call and that Bilichick's arrogance (ok, you may not use that word) finally caught up with him.

Thank you Peyton, thank you rookie corner Jerraud Powers and thank you Bilichick's hubris. You made my night and gave me something to write about after a nearly month long absence. Now if only I could find something to say about Kovalev not producing.

I'm Glad That's Over

What a week! Last night officially ended the worst week I've had in a while.

It started last Saturday. I was playing squash with a couple of friends and ran cross court for a ball that I should have let drop. Instead I pushed it and my foot turned inside effectively turning my ankle into the ball of my foot. The ankle is not built for that. Turns out I have an avulsion fracture (when a ligament or tendon pulls and takes a piece of the bone it's attached to with it). I'm in an air cast for at least 4 weeks and stuck walking around on crutches. So it seems that being lazy wouldn't have been such a bad idea.

If you've ever had to walk with crutches you know how much of a pain in the ass it is. It's hard getting to the bathroom let alone the grocery store. I've got a feeling that after 4 weeks my right calf will be a toothpick but my upper body will be rock solid. I'll look like Joe from Family Guy (without the wheels).

Not only is walking with crutches a pain in the ass, but people are rude and inconsiderate. I want to make it clear that this doesn't apply to all people. My friends and colleagues have been amazing in getting me where I need to go, helping me get groceries, and most importantly, delivering beer. But the general public completely blocks you out; no holding doors, no stepping aside to let you through; expecting you to get out of the way quickly. It amazes me. I know it shouldn't, given my past post on how stupid the world is. I just though that people, although being stupid, were at least considerate.

Anyway, I've got a week in walking with crutches and 3 more to go. It's no so bad now. I even crutched my way to a salon (shut up) to get a head and neck massage (I said shut up) and a haircut. On my way home I stopped for some organic veggies (btw, you should read Rachelle's blog, she's had some posts about local organic stuff in Ottawa and Dawn's blog, about local food with a focus on preserving) and it wasn't so bad. I was a sweaty mess, but still, it is possible to be normal-ish on crutches (next week the pub).

If that were the only thing that happened this week this post would be a bit of a call to 9-wah-wah. Nope, that is not all. I was lying down (which I do a lot now) watching old episodes of Lost waiting for my laundry to dry and I heard an accident; screeching tires and metal hitting metal. "That was close to here" I thought and milliseconds later I hear a loud bang. "That was really close" I thought.

So I grab my crutches and hobble over to the kitchen to check outside. My kitchen door is wide open. There is red brick dust all over the floor and even some pieces of brick. My front step is full of bricks. Then I notice a woman standing in my driveway on the cell phone saying "there's been an accident, the car is on fire".

It hit me immediately. The car hit my house. I'm gimpy and there's nothing I can do. I call my buddy Ryan to come by in case I have to split (gas line, power, etc.). He shows up not long after and, in true Mesheau fashion, is amazed/delighted by what he is seeing. Luckily, nobody was hurt, though there may or may not be a missing cat.

From what the police could put together, a red car hit a white Honda Civic on O'Connor and Lewis (I live here, at 438 Lewis Street). The air bags in the Civic deployed and the driver likely stepped on the gas instead of the brake. He clipped a stop sign (here's a new, temporary sign),


went through the fence (see above and below),


bounced off the corner near my entrance,





down the lane way, and into a concrete wall.



I think it's neat now, but it was dangerous. Had I been outside BBQ-ing, smoking or walking down the lane to get my laundry I'd be either dead or seriously injured. It'd be hard to jump out of the way on one leg.

Crazy week. But it could be worse. My friend lost his job and my cousins have swine flu. Perspective is everything huh?

Three Jerks on the Radio

I voiced my distaste for the Team 1200's morning show personalities in a recent post. My overall gripe is that on a morning sports radio show the hosts rarely talk about sports. Secondary to this is that they biased to the point that they don't even discuss other games. In fact, they rarely, if ever, talk about baseball, football or any sport without an Ottawa connection. Finally, they aren't funny at all. If they were funny I could probably live with the lack of sports content.

On Wednesday October 7th I conducted a bit of an experiment. I decided to track the content of the show to see if it was just me getting my hate on or if the jerks really ignore the sports content in their morning sports show.

Before I get into the details I should briefly touch on the general format during my listening time (7 am to 7:45 and 8:30 am to 8:50 am). The show has a 1 to 3 minute sports update every 20 minutes by someone other than the jerks. Pretty standard sports radio fare. So 3 to 9 minutes of every hour has guaranteed sports content. There are traffic and weather updates as well. Finally, there is a contest every day called the Dirty Dozen at around 7:30. Callers are asked 12 questions and if they get at least 6 right they win. If they don't they have to recite some stupid "I am not a man" speech.

For purposes of this experiment I've restricted my notes on the content to the discussion by the jerks. I'm ignoring the 20/20 update and the traffic and weather. The jerks get a point for every segment that involves sports and lose a point for every segment that doesn't. You'd expect the score to be above zero. Anything below zero is a fail.

Today the first words I heard from the jerks were a discussion of David Letterman's apology to his wife followed by the attractiveness, or lack thereof, of said wife. Score - 1 for the jerks.

Next up was some praise for their Swedish God's goal against a guy in his first ever NHL game (a goal he should score). Score back to even.

This was followed by an interview with Cyril Leeder, president of the Sens that began with a chat about Homer Simpson. They played the Simpsons "na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na leader" (think Batman) clip as the intro which brought Homer about. I'll be generous and give the jerks another point since Mr. Leeder has a sports connection.

The interview with Cyril Leeder continued with a request to bring back the ice girls that shovel the snow during breaks in the game. I already gave you a point for the interview, but I'm taking one away now because the request lead directly to a conversation about whether or not a girl wearing a hockey helmet was sexy. They then try to make a joke about needing to wear a helmet while ploughing (their word, not mine) your wife. Not funny at all. Score back to zero.

The Dirty Dozen was up next with the categories being New York Islanders dynasty, sports siblings and the Rideau Canal. 2 points for the jerks and 1 against since there was no sports connection to the canal questions. The jerks are above water.

At this point I went to the office to grab some supplies and came directly home to jump in the car and drive about 25 minutes west of my home. A perfect opportunity to continue the experiment. This particular portion of their show included chats about:

• Boston Candy (-1);
• teen drinking (-1);
• smashing cars (-1);
• hat trick trivia (+1);
• travelling to Jamaica (-1);
• starvation insurance (-1);
  
• fighting in hockey (+1);
• leafs suck (+1);
• Brittania drive-in (-1); and
• Letterman's wife again (-1).

You should double check my math, but the total score I have is -3. I can live with some non-sports banter from time to time, but this is an average day with more non-sports chat than sports chat, not to mention no discussion of:

• the huge playoff game between the Tigers and Twins to decide who gets to make the ALDS (the Twins won in extra innings);
• out of town hockey games, like the exhilarating Flyers v Caps game; or
• any other actual game that happened the night before or upcoming Wednesday night other than the Sens beating the Leafs.

You'd think in a city of 1,000,000 people you could find 3 interesting people, with good voices, that have sports knowledge and a bit of charm.

If you want to hear real sports radio, check out the Team 990. Sure, they talk about the Habs a lot but they also understand that there are other teams in the NHL and other sports that people are interested in hearing about.

Stomach Punch from Captain America

I didn't expect much of the Buffalo Bills this season until midway through last night's game against the hated Captain America and the New England Patriots. The Bills were ahead 14-10 after an interception by Aaron Schoebel. I began to think that win or lose this could be a decent season for the Bills. I also began to think the football Gods would not allow the Pats to win after arrogantly going for it on 4th and 1 at mid field then in Buffalo territory in the first half when conventional wisdom is to punt or take the 3 points.

Fast forward to 5:23 minutes left in the game after the Bills scored again to put them up 24-13 my pal Dino says "there's a scary amount of time left for Brady". It was the one thing I was thinking but didn't want to hear. People remember Buffalo's implosion last year and their previous poor seasons. What they don't remember is they tend to get ahead early then find a way to lose the game. So, knowing Buffalo's history and Captain America's mythical "win the game in dramatic fashion" history, I was sort of ready, or so I thought. I prepared as much as I could for the defeat but when it's Tom f'n Brady and the Pats it hurts no matter how prepared you are.

So the inevitable begins. Captain America leads his team on an 11 play drive to score a touchdown. The Pats go for 2 points, but the pass is intercepted. Maybe, just maybe, the football Gods are mad at the Pats. Then the Pats kick the ball off. Leodis McKelvin catches the ball in the endzone and rather than take a knee, he runs up the middle of the field and proceeds to fumble the ball at the Buffalo 31 yard line. The football Gods wanted you to take the knee, start at the 20 yard line and eat the clock. How freaking hard is that? So the Pats have great field position and the comeback continues.

The Pats went on to win 25-24. Now I like to think I'm ready for the season. A season probably better than most expect but a season with tough losses that the Bills should have hung on to win. I feel like a pugilist using a medicine ball on my gut to toughen it up for stomach punch after stomach punch. I'm ready. Then I remember a Mike Tyson quote. "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face".

What Does It Take to Fire a Guy

I'm delving into uncharted territory here. I'm going to discuss something I know little about and I'm admitting it.

Alex Rios was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox today essentially taking him off the books of the Blow Jerks and saving them $60 gazillion dollars or something like that.

I'm no fan of the Blow Jerks or boreball but I casually follow it (read I watch the Toronto Sports Network and have to follow it). So this JP Ricciardi guy has been managing the Blow Jerks for some time now and was supposed to bring in moneyball (some sort of state lottery I think). Rather he brought in spend money and drop ball.

According to some blogger on the Toronto Sports Network he wasted money on Frank Thomas, BJ Ryan, AJ Burnett, Vernon Wells, and now is losing Alex "His name is Rios and he dances in the sand" for nothing. How do you lose a player who is under contract for nothing these days? Couldn't they at least have traded him for Ozzie Guillen's goatee or a hat?

Maybe the better question is how is it that Ricciardi still has a job in Toronto?

Don't You Know Who I Am?

A few months ago a colleague of mine told me two disparate stories of encounters with athletes. The first story involved a couple on vacation at a resort and a wonderful encounter with a super bowl winner. The second involved a couple at a bar in Chicago and an encounter with a dickhead hockey player.

The couple at the resort met a large, long haired man who was nothing but kind. They shared a table, dinner and drinks. The large man and his wife left before the couple. When the couple went to pay for their dinner they found that the large man had paid for them. They asked the server who the man was and the response was Troy Polamalu. They had no idea who he was but had nothing but nice things to say about him.

The next story is of a couple at a bar in Chicago. A young kid is at the bar and asks the couple if they want their picture taken with him. They had no idea who he was and said no. He says "don't you know who I am?" to them. They still say no. He pulls out his blackberry and googles "Patrick Kane". He proceeds to show them a picture of himself and asks "Do you want your picture taken with me now?". No remained the response.

When I first heard these stories I wasn't sure if I should believe them. I believe that Troy Polamalu is an unassuming man and kind (all the interviews I've seen and read support this view). I also believe that certain sports celebrities can be dickheads, so I didn't totally dismiss the Patrick Kane story. But to go as far as taking out your blackberry and googling yourself seemed a bit of a stretch. Then I read this story and I believed every word of the story I heard from my colleague. He even said "Don't you know who I am" to the cabbie!

I've always had a love/hate relationship with sports. I love sports but I generally hate athletes. I hate athletes because I'm not good at sports. But I also hate that they are placed on a pedestal and looked up to from the day they start winning games in high school. They are coddled and given special treatment all of their lives. That's why you get people like Patrick Kane, Donte Stalworth, Kobe Bryant, OJ, Heatley, and others acting the way they do and generally getting away with it. They think they are special because we treat them special. They think they can get away with things because we let them get away with things.

Unfortunately what this does is paint athletes like Troy Polamalu with the same brush as athletes who take what they have for granted. I knew some nice jocks in High School and university. But they were the exception rather than the rule. Most of them were (and likely still are) dickheads like Patrick Kane.

Sometimes I Hate Ottawa

This city can get me pretty riled up when I think about how stupid it is. Check out this article in the Ottawa Citizen. I'll summarize for the lazy reader:

The city bylaw officers told the owner of a gallery and cafe to remove a small table and two chairs that were on the sidewalk. The owner didn't have a permit to have the table and chairs on the sidewalk.

First, it seems silly that you need a permit for a tiny table and two chairs, but I understand bureaucracy (well, I understand it exists anyway). But in my mind it's really just city authority figures flexing their muscles; city authority figures love to flex their muscles, from parking attendants to city police who really wanted to be in the RCMP but didn't have the grades. They could have left a single table and set of chairs on the sidewalk in the market where 21 year olds frequently vomit from partying too much at 5pm on a Saturday (true story, had to walk around it).

Second, the city of Ottawa's tourism calendar used a photo of the table and chairs sitting on the sidewalk. The city is removing something it uses to promote itself. City to tourists "Come to Ottawa, we have these nice tables outside of our bistros." City to bistro owners "you got a permit for that table? No? Better put that back inside."

This isn't the first time the city made itself look stupid. Just last week KISS were visiting as part of bluesfest. The "acting mayor" (our "elected" mayor is on trial for influence peddling) announced plans to have a Shannon Tweed day in your capital city. Ms. Tweed was Miss Ottawa Valley 1977, so there is a tenuous connection to Bytowne. Well the acting mayor spoke too soon as several councillors objected to Shannon Tweed day feeling she was not worthy because of her, umm, unsavoury acting choices. Nice move boneheads. Did you not realize that Ms. Tweed and her husband star in a reality show? Did you not think for a second that this would be a great hook for an episode? And how did you feel when Oshawa announced they'd roll out the red carpet and proclaim a Shannon Tweed day? Silly I bet.

My final gripe to speak of today (as I have many with this large town we call a city) is with its inhabitants, particularly those that live in the Glebe. The Glebe is a trendyish part of town and happens to be the location of the Lansdowne Park and Frank Clair Stadium. The folks living in the Glebe (we'll call them Glebites) aren't generally fond of the park and the stadium. Well, that's not entirely true, they like the park just fine on Sundays when the farmers market is open. What they don't like is lively crowds at football games or Rolling Stones Concerts.

These Glebites really get my goat. Lansdowne Park has been holding exhibits since 1868. Football (rugby) began being played at Lansdowne in 1878. You've been alive for how long? Didn't it ever occur to you before moving into a house near Lansdowne Park that there may be a crowd from time to time? I mean, it's been there for more than 230 years, there have been crowds there for more than 230 years. Maybe the local farmers weren't as loud as the Stones (we should ask Keith), but I'll bet 230 years ago the farming exhibit and rugby were the only attractions in town and had their fair share of loud and unruly folk.

Ottawa is known to have a bit of an inferiority complex. It thinks other cities like Toronto and Montreal, look down on them. They feel like their not a real city. Well, they do look down on us and we are not a real city and it's all your fault.

Bye bye Joe

This post is a bit of a reversal. I will be praising someone, specifically Joe Sakic. Joe Sakic is one of the greatest hockey players of my lifetime. He doesn't hold the record for most goals, assists, or points (though he is 14th, 8th and 11th respectively), but he was a consummate professional, never once involved in any type of scandal or me first scenario and he played his entire career with the same franchise, the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche.

It is a rarity in sports today where you have an athlete spend their entire career with the same team. To me, this says a lot about Joe. Joe chose to be loyal to his team, even through the recent bad years. But if you look at it another way, his team chose to be loyal to him. Why did Joe stay when Forsberg left, Foote left, Tanguay left, etc. To me, this says even more about Joe. Even as his skills were declining (sorry but it's true) the Avs wanted Joe to stay and you never once heard his name in any trade rumours and always sort of knew he'd retire with his team.

So cheers to Joe. We'll miss you, especially this February in Vancouver.

A Note to Sens Fans

Dear Sens fans,

I've heard a lot of talk over the last couple of days over the signing of enigmatic winger Alexei Kovalev. Mostly fans are taking a wait and see approach, but the comment I hear more often than not is "I hope we get the good Kovalev and not the one that doesn't show up all the time". Newsflash: there is only one Alexei Kovalev. He is good but doesn't show up all the time, or as Kovy puts it, he tries too hard. There aren't two Kovalev's that take turns from game to game.

He'll be great on a line with Spezza. He may score 85 points this season, he may score 55. Either way, he will light it up one game and not show up for 3. But don't think that there's a good twin and a bad twin. There's only one Alexei Kovalev and you have to take the bad with the good.

Look at it this way. You're losing a guy that skates around with his stick in the air half the time (IF he ever accepts a trade) and getting a guy who shows up half the time. At least the new guy's salary is $2.5 million less than the ingrate's.

Koivu and Kovalev Part Deux

Today the Ottawa Senators signed Alexei Kovalev, the enigmatic winger who spent the last few seasons in Montreal. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. I was also a fan of Kovy, though he was frustrating to watch. Sens fans should be wary; he has the ability to be a game changer, when he wants to, but he also loses interest for long periods of time. I’m guessing most of you already know that.

This isn’t going to be a rant about Kovy. Rather, this is a rant about Habs fans. I hate most Habs fans. Habs fans are generally an obnoxious lot. Habs fans get out of control, behave inappropriately, are mouthy, and just generally not fun to be around. I can tolerate that and sometimes even participate. What bothers me right now is the lack of respect that Saku Koivu has received.

Over the weekend, there was a rally at the Bell Centre with the intention to sway Bob Gainey to re-sign Kovalev. Obviously it didn’t work. Eric Engels, one of my favourite Hab writers/bloggers said "I'd sooner attend a rally for Koivu". So what I really want to know is “where is the rally is for Saku?”

Kovalev spent 4 ½ seasons in Montreal (5 ½ if you count the lockout) and over that span he was arguably the most skilled forward Montreal had. I'm sad to see him go, but I'm also happy. As mentioned ad nauseum, he didn’t quite give his all every night, and certainly wasn’t the best on both sides of the ice. The $5 million he's getting from Ottawa is better spent elsewhere (though I'm not sure it was spent in the most efficient fashion).

Koivu spent his entire NHL career with Montreal; 13 seasons (14 with the lockout) with little support (see Brian Savage, Sergei Berezin, etc.). He showed up for the Habs every night and lead by example. He was great with and without the puck. He came back from a serious eye injury and a battle with cancer. The man is more courageous that Kovalev could ever be. Koivu could have left as a free agent before and chose to stay. He donated countless dollars to cancer research and equipment in the city. He put up with the media’s lack of respect for him with nothing but respect for them. He never said boo when they complained about him not speaking French or when he had that serious eye injury and the stupid photographers were taking flash photos.

Koivu is a man with courage and class. He will be sadly missed and all you Habs fans showing support for a wasted talent like Kovalev rather than Koivu should be ashamed.

New Look Habs

I'm still trying to absorb all the changes the Montreal Canadiens have made since June 30th. I'm not sure I'm ready to write this post, but I may not be ready until midway through next season, so here we go.

I want to discuss the UFAs that didn't get signed first. I blogged about it recently and still think Bob Gainey erred by not signing Komisarek prior to the end of the season. It's clear now that Komisarek was the only UFA that Bob was interested in re-signing, though he did make an offer to Kovalev as well. Komisarek signed with the rival Leafs for a total of $2 million more, about $500,000 per season. Team 990, the Montreal sports radio station, is reporting that Komisarek wanted 8 years from Montreal, for less yearly money, but couldn't get it.

I'm not sure who I'm mad at most here. If the reports from Team 990 are true, why wouldn't you sign a stud defenseman to an 8 year deal, especially one that is only 27. Also, I think Gainey likely could have avoided all this by offering Komisarek a contract during the season.

On the other hand, I'm pissed at Komisarek. I understand it's his right as free agent to sign wherever he chooses, but to choose the Leafs is a kick in the gut to us Habs fans. I've heard some interviews with him lately saying he wanted a fresh start and to play in a hockey city. He also said all the right things about Montreal. I want to hate this guy so much, but I can't. He's a good guy and gave up his body every night for the Habs.

I'm torn about this all. I blame Gainey and Komisarek both. This could have been avoided and Komisarek would almost certainly be a captain someday (perhaps he would have been the next captain). It will take some time to figure out how I feel, probably not until the first Leafs - Habs game.

I think the defensive changes are a definite loss for the Habs. Spacek and Gill (I can't believe we have Gill, I hated that guy for so long) will not replace Komisarek and Schneider. I'm not getting any deeper into this. It's a fact that isn't up for discussion, so let's move on to the forwards.

The main UFA forwards, Koivu, Kovalev and Tanguay, that weren't re-signed may have been a purposeful changing of the guard. Saku Koivu has been with the Habs for 13 years. He's been the captain of the franchise for 10. He gave his heart and soul to the team and the city. Saku Koivu's foundation in Montreal helped raise millions of dollars over the years for cancer research and equipment in the city. Regardless of whether you think he should have stayed or gone, you cannot argue with what he gave to the team and the city; everything he had.

Kovalev had to go. I like Kovy more than most. He is probably the most talented stick handler in the league. He's also the most frustrating forward to watch in the league. He'll show up one night and not the next. If he did re-sign, I wouldn't have been upset, but I'm also not upset that he's not coming back.

Finally Tanguay was only here one year and was hurt for a good part of it. I didn't have time to develop an affinity for him so I won't really miss him.

As I've mentioned above, I believe this was a deliberate changing of the guard. For years, there have been rumours of dressing room battles within the Habs. I think Bob saw this as a way to change the culture of the dressing room. With Koivu, Kovy, Komisarek, and Higgins gone, the Habs just lost their captain and 3 people who have worn the A over the past 4 years. Now, we have Gomez, Cammalleri, and Gionta. We still don't know who will be the captain or the assistants, but we are certain the leadership of this team has changed. These guys are hard workers. Gomez and Gionta played for the Devils and should fit nicely into Martin's defensive system.

A lot of bloggers and reporters are saying that the changes at forward is a sideways move; the Habs didn't get better, they just changed three pieces for three equal pieces. I thought I'd look into this and compare the players involved since the lockout season.

First, the centres, Koivu and Gomez:

Koivu
GP	G	A	Pts
72	17	45	62
81	22	53	75
77	16	40	56
65	16	34	50

Gomez
GP	G	A	Pts
82	33	51	84
72	13	47	60
81	16	54	70
77	16	42	58

Gomez clearly has more upside, scoring 84 points the year after the lockout. With the exception of 2006/2007, Gomez has produced more points that Koivu each year. This is a step up. Also, Gomez is younger than Koivu and is being reunited with Gionta, his line mate the year he scored 85 points. I'd say this is an improvement.

You can't discuss the acquisition of Gomez without looking at what was given up, Higgins and McDonagh. Higgins was highly touted, expected to lead the Habs one day in scoring and as a captain or assistant. However, looking at Higgins' production, it didn't look like he was developing into that player. His best year was 2007/2008, scoring 27 goals and 25 assists, for 52 total points. This was also the only year he played a full season. Maybe Higgins will develop into that player someday, but I don't mind Gainey giving up on him, he wasn't getting there and may need a change to be the player he can be (see John LeClair).

Losing McDonagh worries me more. The kid (he's in university) is expected to be a large, stay at home defense man. I saw him play at the World Juniors this year and he is big and good. I suspect he'll be the seen as the steal of the trade when the Rangers look back in a few years.

Next, we'll compare Kovalev and Gionta.

Kovalev
GP	G	A	Pts
69	23	42	65
73	18	29	47
82	35	49	84
78	26	39	65

Gionta
GP	G	A	Pts
82	48	41	89
62	25	20	45
82	22	31	53
81	20	40	60

Looking at the stats, this may be a push. Both had seasons with 80 plus points and seasons with less than 50 points. If you look at the trend, you see that Kovalev's production is getting better, but let's not forget that Gionta is being reunited with Gomez. This should help them both. Also, Kovalev isn't getting any younger. Finally, I doubt that you have to give Gionta a few days off to find himself and start playing like he cares. Even if Kovalev's stats were markedly better than Gionta's, I'd say it's addition by subtraction. I can live with this. I just don't look forward to playing Kovalev in the future.

Finally, let's look at Tanguay and Cammallerri:

Tanguay
GP	G	A	Pts
71	29	49	78
81	22	59	81
78	18	40	58
50	16	25	41

Cammallerri
GP	G	A	Pts
80	26	29	55
81	34	46	80
63	19	28	47
81	39	43	82

I'd say that Cammallerri is the winner here, though it is a tight race. Cammallerri had 2 seasons with 80 or more points; Tanguay only missed it by 2 points in 2005/2006. Cammallerri appears more durable as well, only having one season playing less than 80 games. Tanguay has only played 80 or more games once since the lockout. I'll take Cammallerri's durability and call the point production a push.

So, Montreal may be slightly better offensively but are more durable than in previous years. They are worse off defensively. If Montreal signs another defense man, or one comes up through the system (hi there PK), then maybe we'll be a better team this year. Or, maybe we'll be better just because we've lost a guy who only shows up when he wants to and we get 2 guys who have won 2 cups each with the Devils.

I still don't know how to feel about this. I'm going to miss Koivu and Komisarek. I'll even miss Kovalev's talent. I'm glad I compared the new guys with the old and wrote this entry (though it may be one of my worst posts) to help me figure out how I feel. Too bad it didn't work. Tell me what you think.

2009 NHL Entry Draft Diary

One of my favourite columnists is Bill Simmons. Occasionally, Bill will post a running diary for an event, whether it’s the SuperBowl, the NBA draft or the season finale of Real World. In fact, he did one last night for the NBA draft. I thought I’d pay homage (I think people say homage when they really mean I stole this idea from so and so) to Bill with my running diary of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, or as they say in Montreal "2009 Repechage". Also, I’ve got nothing better to do tonight and I’ll be watching the draft, so why not?

5:14 – I’m home from work, the draft is 1:46 away and I’m watching Around the Horn. I’m guessing they won’t mention the draft. I am also curious about Garth Snow. Have you seen him on TV this week? The guy is huge. He has broad shoulders which makes me wonder if all that talk about him wearing oversized pads was founded (it probably was). So I’m going to Google Garth Snow.

He’s 6ft 3, 200 lbs, or was during his playing career. So maybe these pads were his size:


Wow, also found this photo:



I’m guessing that’s not Garth’s family. See, it’s not just the young Habs that like to have some fun.

5:17 – I’m starting to re-taste that shawarma. I should have gone to the rib festival instead. The GM ad is on. Does that GM restart, rebuild, we’re all better now annoy anyone else? You know how I feel about the GM thing.

5:20 – Fox Harbour, NS is spectacular, if you can afford the $325/night room plus $225 green fee. You have to be a guest at the resort to golf. It’s not as bad as I thought. Plus, you gotta prop up that economy.

5:28 – The new Cowboys stadium kinda looks like a bike helmet:


5:29 – No NHL draft mention on Around the Horn, let’s see what the PTI guys have to say.

5:50 – An ad for the NHL draft summarizing Vinny Lecavalier’s career just came on. Why are you teasing me? We all know he won’t be a Hab.

5:59 – No NHL draft mention on PTI, a sports talk show, but a 2 minute segment on Michael Jackson. REALLY? And Wilbon chooses to remember him pre 1984. Come on Wilbon. His history is his history. You can’t just separate the good from the bad.

I’m surprised about the lack of NHL content. They chatted about the NHL every night during the playoffs. I thought the league turned a corner with the PTI guys. Oh, they just said, more coming up including the NHL draft, but only the Americans get to see it. Blast! No more updates until the draft starts, unless there’s something important on SportsCentre.

7:00 – TSN’s 2009 NHL Entry Draft coverage begins with everyone asking “who will Garth Snow select first overall?” My money’s on John Tavares. TSN, the Toronto Sports Network has been building this guy up for years (he’s from the greater Bippity area © GValentino). My guess is he’ll be a Jason Spezza type; lots of offensive talent, but mistake prone and a defensive liability.

7:02 – Victor Hedman baby pictures?!?!.

7:04 – First trade of the night? Pronger to the Flyers? He’s just what the Flyers need to get dirtier. TSN is saying it happened, but nothing confirmed yet.

7:13 – Bettman’s on stage with Henri Richard and Cournoyer in an obvious attempt to not get booed. The crowd doesn’t boo, until Bettman speaks, in broken French. Even Helen Keller could speak French better than the Weasel.

7:18 – The New York Islanders select Tavares. Biggest non-surprise of the year. I like that Snow tried to build suspense, but everyone knew they’d pick Tavares (even though Hedman is the better choice). They need a poster boy to get a new arena build and with 10,000 plus fans in Nassau waiting, and wanting Tavares, there was no way he wasn’t going to be their first selection.

Blob Mackenzie is going over Tavares’ OHL stats. I may eat my words about his talent; he broke Gretzky’s record as a 16 year old and is the OHL all time leading goal scorer (though he played 4 years).

7:25 – It’s confirmed, the Flyers send Sbisa, Lupul and 2 first round picks to Anaheim for Pronger. I hate the Flyers. I hate Pronger. I hate them both more now.

7:26 – Brian Lawton (first overall pick in 1983 – I thought it was Yzerman, have to look that up – Stevie Y was 4th) selects Victor Hedman. Another non-surprise…Duchene will go next to the Avs.

Hedman sounds like he’ll be a good D man. 6 foot 6. He was a great player at the World Junior Championships this year and has been playing against men in Sweden for a year already. 7:35 - No more pick-by-pick updates.

I’ll update for trades, Habs picks/news and any other interesting items (like how many times the Toronto Sports Network cuts to Brian Burke (4 and counting).

7:40 – Duchene is from the same city – Haliburton – as Bernie Nicholls. Bernie won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he was a great player. AND Duchene was a hug Avs fan growing up, with signed Sakic and Roy (the greatest goalie ever) jerseys. Good for him. He fist pumped when Hedman went to Tampa, knowing he’d end up an Av.

7:51 – Evander Kane has 7% body fat. I think I ate 7% body fat in the pig’s cheeks we had at Play on Sunday night.

8:02 – Columbus trades its 2 picks for 4 Islander picks. The Isles move up their next two picks up (next being 16th) and the Jackets get 2 extra picks. Smart move by Columbus. According to Brian “great hair” Lawton, picks 5 to 50 are pretty much a coin toss. Must be one of those crazy Dungeon and Dragons coins that have 45 sides.

8:09 – Leafs GM Burke gets booed. Excellent. They select Nazem Kadri, another GTA local, and Pierre McGuire thinks that Bryan Murray, Sens GM, is incensed. Pierre thinks the Sens wanted Kadri.

Holy shit. Burke is wired for TSN. Of course. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but it’s so blatant that I’m watching the Toronto Sports Network. I wonder if this is on RDS. Yes it is, but not in HD (I hate Rogers cable). But hey, it’s Jacques Demers. My friend dated his daughter, in grade 3.

Kadri’s favourite team used to be the Montreal Canadiens. Now it’s the Leafs (according to Kadri). A true Habs fan would not have put on that Leafs jersey. A true Habs fan would have pulled an Eric Lindros. I think I hate Kadri.

(That last line was obviously a joke, but I have to write a post one day about cheering for a jersey. That’s pretty much what we do. And being friends with me because we cheer for the same jersey. Throw in some Chomsky and drunken talk at Scotiabank Place. BAM! There’s your post.)

8:27 – Speaking of Scotiabank Place, the Sens pick Jared Cowen. The 6 foot 5, 216 pound Jared Cowen. That should fill a part of the void left by Chara’s departure. Some, Chara is 6 foot 9. Murray tells Duthie he can’t see a Heatley trade happening tonight. And I’m telling you, I don’t see a Lecavalier to Montreal trade happening ever.

8:38 – Alright, it’s Friday night. I’m outta here. Check out TSN for more picks. And let me know if Lecavalier ends up in MTL.

Money Can't Buy Happiness But It Can Beat a Murder Charge

I've always thought that people who say money can't buy happiness never had any money. Sure, it doesn't guarantee that you'll be happy, but it helps you buy bthings that go a long way to helping you be happy. It can also help to get you out of trouble.

Just last week, Donte Stallworth was found guilty of killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida. Murder in my books, but the state of Florida allowed him to plea down to a charge of manslaughter. Donte (he doesn’t deserve the word Mr.) was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 2 years probation. Yes, 30 days in jail.

30.

Days.

One month for taking a life while driving drunk. Do you think if you were found guilty of taking someone’s life while intoxicated that you would only get 30 days in jail? I doubt you would because you don’t have the kind of money or celebrity status that Donte does.

I’m sure Donte didn’t just throw money at the court to make this all go away, but he did throw a lot of money at a defense team and who knows, maybe he threw a lot of money at the victim's family since they factored into Donte's settlement.

The fact that he was even driving drunk in the first place is beyond me. Just that day, Donte received a $4.5 million roster bonus from the Cleveland Browns. If I had $4.5 million I can assure you I wouldn't be driving my own ass around town, especially if I were out celebrating getting a fat pay cheque. I'd hire the biggest, toughest looking personal driver/bouncer around Florida to get me where I want to go and protect me from myself and drunk fans that like to pick fights with athletes.

Donte's not the first rich guy to get away with murder or other heinous crimes, the following is a list, just off the top of my head:

• OJ


• Michael Jackson


• Ray Lewis


• Ted Kennedy


• William Shatner (look it up. Ok, it's a conspiracy, but I had to do it)

I'm sure I'm missing some easy ones, but I'm lazy right now. That doesn't even include the rich folks that we don't know about, CEOs, Princes, diplomats, etc. This seems to be a recurring issue with people with cash. They can pretty much do whatever they want because they can buy their way out of it.

This all reminds me of an episode of South Park where the kids went to visit Magic Johnson. They found that he slept with his bed full of money. Scientists studied this and discovered that money can cure aids, a $180,000 injection of cash could keep the virus at bay. While this is obviously satire, it's not far from the truth. Money can't buy you happiness, but it cure a lot of problems.

In Bob we Trust(?)

A friend of mine is as big a Habs fan as I know. He entertains me with his Hab puns. For example, he has nicknames for most players, such as Greek Lightning for Tom Kostopoulos and the Tenderness for Guillaum Latendresse. I once lamented Bob Gainey's choice of forcing Guy Carbonneau to start Carey Price so early in the young goaltender's career and my friend said "In Bob we trust". The Canadiens went on to finish first in the eastern conference and made it to the second round of the playoffs. It seemed everything Bob Gainey did worked. In Bob I trusted.

But now, I'm starting to have some doubts. Here's why:

• Giving Price the starter's role didn't look like the greatest decision last year.
  
  
• The Habs were falling in the standings last season and just as they started to turn things around with a few wins, Bob Gainey fires head coach Guy Carbonneau. Bob took over behind the bench and didn't fare much better as the Habs snuck into the playoffs and were swept by the hated Bruins.
  


• Last month Bob hired Jacques Martin as head coach (I've lamented on this already here) and informed the assistant coaches and media that they'll have a full staff in place by June 15th, 2009. Bob has yet to announce the hiring of the full coaching staff, though it has been announced that Roland Melanson, Don Lever, Ron Wilson, and Doug Jarvis will not be returning and that Kirk Muller will remain as an assistant. Bob failed to meet his self-imposed deadline.
  


• The Habs had 10 players due to become unrestricted free agents during the last season and Bob signed a total of 0 to an extension. Bob missed out on signing the potential UFAs during the season.
  


• The Habs had 4 players due to become restricted free agents during the last season and Bob signed a total of 0 to an extension. Bob missed out on signing the potential RFAs during the season.
  


• The Habs still have 10 players that are due to become UFAs and 4 players due to become RFAs with less than a week to go to the beginning of the free agency period. Bob is running out of time to deal with the 14 UFA and RFAs and, according to Pat Hickey, Bob has no plans to sign any UFAs or RFAs until after the draft.
  

• The Habs are heavily rumoured to acquire Vincent Lecavalier in a trade with Tampa Bay, but Bob publicly chastised the Lightning's GM, calling his actions "disgraceful". Bob's comments can't be good for his relationship with Tampa's GM Brian Lawton and his chances of acquiring Lecavalier.

I doubted Bob before and he reaffirmed my trust. He stalked the cupboards full of young talent through the draft, he turned Kovalev's season around at the end of this year and he proved that starting Price early was a good move (2 years ago anyway). I also know that Bob keeps his cards pretty close to the vest, but I'm having a hard time trusting Bob now. Here's hoping that Bob will prove me wrong, but he's got a tough road ahead of him.

Surprise! Favre Considers Coming Out of Retirement

Wow, didn't see that coming (hey, what font do you use for sarcasm?). In an interview with Joe Buck, Brett Favre says he's considering playing again. According to TSN (I think they stole it from Joe) he's had talks with the Minnesota Vikings and he will know in several weeks whether his surgically repaired arm will allow him to come out of retirement.

I have a few quick thoughts on this:

1. Did this guy even re-retire? I remember the Jets blowing the season. I remember the Jets cutting him. I don't remember a tear stained Brett Favre on a podium talking about how he'll remember all the fond memories (all 16 weeks) of being a Jet. I don't remember Sal Palantonio saying that Brett should be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame as a Jet.
2. Even if he did re-retire, as the great Jack Russell once sang "my, my, my I'm once bitten twice shy" Brett. I'll believe you are retired when we get through more than one full season with you riding your tractor in your tight little shorts, no shirt and red hat with JP Losman staring on longingly (check out these quotes, scroll about three quarters of the page, JP Losman actually said that. I'm glad he's no longer a Bill).
3. Is there a way to repair an arm other than surgically? I suppose an orthopedic cast repairs an arm. Is that surgery? If it isn't, I wouldn't tell they guy applying the cast. You never know what he'd do.

So Brett, just go away, or sign with the Vikings. It really doesn't matter. I realize that you want to play football and that's great. And I'm glad you let Joe Buck and Joe Public know your intentions. But I really want all this to go away. It's summer and I want to fall asleep listening to baseball highlights.

The Heat is Off

Dany Heatley has requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators. TSN is reporting that they have confirmed that Heatley informed the Sens that he wishes to play elsewhere. The reason stated is Heatley's concern regarding the apparent limiting of his ice time and, according to Darren Dreger, a conflict with head coach Cory Clouston.

The Sens traded for Heatley in 2005 after he requested a trade from the Atlanta Thrashers. At the time, Heatley felt there were too many reminders of the tragic event that took teammate Dan Snyder's life. Heatley was welcomed to Ottawa with open arms (with the exception of yours truly), had 2 great seasons with the Sens and was rewarded with a $7.5 million per year, 6 year contract. After a coaching change and his belief that his ice time is limited (Heatley averaged 4th in ice time behind Kuba, Phillips, and Alfredsson), he wants to be moved again.

Go ahead, move the guy. A head coach comes in with a system that produces better results than the last two coaches (based on winning percentage) and turns the team around. Heatley sees his ice time dwindle as a result of the system and starts whining about his ice time. He sounds pretty selfish to me, not the kind of team player you need to win. And who needs a player who skates around with his stick in the air half the time waiting for a pass?

This is probably a good thing for the Sens. They should be able to get a good return for Heatley and the rumours about Spezza being traded should go away. Knowing my luck, Gainey will sell the farm for Heatley.